Mediaite’s SportsGrid Ranks Top 25 Sports Bloggers

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Before you follow the link to the post on Mediaite written by Glenn Davis and Dan Fogarty to find out if you made their list of the top 25 sports bloggers on the Internet, you’ll need to know that the title of the article is somewhat misleading.

In fact, the title is very misleading.

Davis and Fogarty should have titled the article “The Top 25 People Who Write About Sports”, because only seven true sports bloggers populate their list.

Among the “bloggers” the authors listed include Jason Whitlock, Bill Simmons, Dan Shanoff, Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter.

As I pointed out in the comment I wrote regarding their top 25, all of the professional journalists that Davis and Fogarty listed don’t qualify as true bloggers.

Apparently Davis and Fogarty haven’t been informed of the very distinct differences that exist among the mainstream media and bloggers.

Those differences can sometimes become combative in nature when the professionals attack bloggers over what they believe is a lack of ethics, journalistic integrity and expediency.

The chasm between a true blogger and a professional journalist is, at least in my view, more a matter of perception than anything else.

Speaking only for myself, I don’t want to be lumped in with the Jason Whitlock’s of the world.

If I’m going to be recognized for anything I write, I want my work to be included among those I consider my peers, the true bloggers.

I don’t have anything against any of the professionals mentioned, but I refuse to recognize anyone who writes for Fox Sports, ESPN or Yahoo Sports for a living as a blogger.

I’ll give Davis and Fogarty credit for naming A.J. Daulerio of Deadspin, Brooks of Sports by Brooks and Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead as their “starters” for the best sports bloggers on the Internet.

The list also included Will Leitch and an honorable mention of sorts for Drew Magary of Kissing Suzy Kolber.

At least the authors did point out that the true bloggers they mentioned were gaining in relevance every day, a fact that has for some time been well-known among the sports blogosphere.

As opposed to writing several paragraphs on the subject, perhaps an unknown author representing The Sports Hernia best summed up how I felt about Davis’ and Fogerty’s list.

Without spoiling the fun, you can read his succinct analysis of the list here.

I offered my services to the authors regarding a true list of the top 25 sports bloggers, but haven’t received a request from them. Wonder why?

In the meantime, those of us who know the difference between a sports blogger and a professional journalist – like it takes a lot to figure out – can take consolation in the fact that we figured it out long before Glenn Davis and Dan Fogarty did.